Tobacco stemmer



Dec. 20, 1938.A R. E. RUNDx-:LL

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Filed May l, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 fly 6 ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1938. R. E. RUNDELL TOBACCO STEMMER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May l, 1935 IIII Il INVENTOR l I l I f I I Il ATTORNEY De. 20, 1-938. R. EA RUNDELL TOBACCO STEMMER A Filed May l, 1935 v 6 Sheets-Shea?l 6 INVEITOR i BY g ATTOR NEY Patented Dec. 20, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFHCE.

TOBACCO STEMBIER of New Jersey Application May 1, 1935, Serial No. 19,228

23 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tobacco stemmers, its main object being to improve stemming machines of the general type disclosed in the co-pending application of T. R. Priddy, Serial No. 753,379, iiled November 16, 1934, now Patent Number 2,114,457, although it should be understood that the various features of the invention are applicable to tobacco stemming machines of various types.

l To this end it is an object of the invention to provide means for stemming any leaves which owing to broken stems or other causes are not held fast by the stem-pulling cables of the n machine but carried along by the stemming mechanism without being stemmed` Still another object is to provide means for scoring all stems which have been stripped, so that they will be broken oft to a uniform length before their delivery from the machine, this l -length being adjustable within given limits.

A further object of the invention is to provide for relative adjustment of the cables which forward the leaves into the range of action of the butt-stripping unit and the cables which draw 5 the butted leaves through the stemming mechanism to assure'proper gripping thereof between the opposed runs of each set of cables, in order that the percentage of dropped leaves may be kept down to a minimum and also to permit separation of the cables for repair or replacement.

Still another object is the provision of a mounting for the butt-stripping unit which will permit the same to be swung out of operative position for repair or replacement of the butt-stripping rolls. With these and other objects not specically mentioned in view the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations hereinafter fully described and then specifically Set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

The improved machine comprises a conveyor which delivers the leaves laid upon it by an operator to a set of cables having opposed runs which grip the advancing leaves between them and pull them forward through a set of carded L5 rolls which strip the butt-ends of the leaves as they are carried along by the said holding cables.

A second set of cables similar to the first grips the stem butts of the leaves emerging from the butt-stripping unit and draws them through a stemming unit consisting of an upper and lower endless carded belt set at a diverging angle to the second set of cables so that the leaf is gradually stripped oi the stem as their divergence increases during the advance of the leaf. A deliv- 55 ery belt carries the stemmed leaves away from the machine, and a conveyor discharges any unstemmed broken leaves which have been carried along by the stemming unit.-

Both sets o1" cables in the present machine are made vertically and horizontally adjustable and the upper cable guides are so mounted that, by simply throwing a handle, they can be raised a given distance for convenient repair or replacement of the cables or their guides. The buttstripping unit is mounted on a horizontally swingable bed mounted on a vertical pivot so that the entire unit can be swung free of the machine for inspection and repairs. The stemming belts are mounted so as to be horizontally and vertically adjustable, and the broken-leaf delivery belts, which are adjustable with the stemming unit, are in addition made transversely adjustable with respect to the stemming belts.

There is further provided mechanism consisting of a rotating disk carrying a plurality of grippers arranged to close upon the stem of any leaf broken off from its stem butt while the same is held in the belts, and pulling the same away from the latter and thereby stemming the broken leaf. This auxiliary stem puller is placed near the delivery end of the stemming unit at a point Where the stems of all whole leaves have already been pulled out by the cables.

The device for scoring the stems consists of a vertically adjustable cutter disk co-acting with a Xed smooth roller placed parallel to the stemming belts in the meeting plane of the ends of the stemming pins to score the stems passing over the roller, thereby weakening them so that they all break off to the same length. The scoring disk is mounted on the guide for the upper stemming belt run and the roller is carried on the lower guide, both the disk and roller being movable in the direction of the stemming belts to permit variation of the distance of the scoring point from the holding cables.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which like characters or reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the butt-stripping section of the machine;

Fig. 1a is a sectional view taken on line let-Ia, Fig. 1, showing the adjusting mechanism for the carded butting rolls.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the leaf-stemming section of the machine;

(Figs. 1 and 2, when joined on the line I-I, constituting a complete plan View of the improved machine.)

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the idler sheaves of the primary set of cables, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the vertical and horizontal adjustment of the sheaves, this cross-section being identical with that taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, of the idler sheaves of the other Set of cables, with the exception of the lengths of the sheave axles and their bearings;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the cable guides on line 4 4 of Fig. l, showing the device for raising the upper cable, this cross-section being identical with the section on line l-4 of Fig. 1 and similar to the section on line 4-4" of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the cable guides on line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showing the device for latching the upper cable and its guide sheave in raised position, this cross-section being similar to the section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the cable drive on line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showing the vertical adjustment of the driving sheaves, this cross-section being identical with the section on line E 6' of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a cross-section of the stemming-belt drive, taken on line -l of Fig. 2 and showing the devices for vertically adjusting the stemming belts and transversely adjusting the broken-leaf delivery belts;

Fig. 8 is a detail View from line 3 3 of Fig. '7, showing the arrangement for vertically adjusting the stemming belt sprockets;

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of the auxiliary stem puller for stemming broken leaves broken off from the holding cables, the same being taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the adjustable stem scorer as viewed from line |9 9 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the stem scorer viewed from line of Fig. 10.

In carrying the invention into effect there is provided butt-stripping mechanism, mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of action of said butt-stripping mechanism, carded traveling endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping mechanism and drawing them between said carded surfaces, and a device for scoring at a predetermined length the stems of leaves drawn between said carded surfaces by said means so that each unbroken stem will be broken olf at its scored portion. In the best constructions contemplated, there is provided a rotary disk having sets of grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them. The means above referred to may be widely varied in construction within the scope of the claims for the particular machine selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, of the drawings, the belts |5 and I6 are driven by pulleys and 8 on shaft I9. 'Ihe upper runs of the belts travel over a table 2U, and the leaves L placed thereon by an attendant are advanced until they are gripped between the opposed runs of upper and lower endless cables 2| and 2| driven from a motor 22 by sheaves 23 on shafts 24 and 24', re-

spectively, and running over idler sheaves 25 andV 25 on shafts 26 and 26. The cables 2| and 2|' are looped over their driving and idler sheaves a plurality of times to provide a plurality of operating runs on each cable, as fully described in the Priddy application referred to above; and the crossing run of each cable passes over guide sheaves 21 carried by brackets 28. Thereupon the cables 2| and 2|' advance the leaves with their butts projecting into vthe space between two superimposed spirally carded rolls 29 which are set at a diverging angle from the cables and driven by a motor 30 whereby the butt-ends of the leaves are stripped.

After passing the rolls 29, the stems S of the leaves L are gripped ibetween a set of cables 3| driven from a motor 32 by sheaves 33 on inclined shafts 34 and running over idler sheaves 35 on inclined shafts 36. The cables 3| are likewise looped over their driving and idler sheaves a number of times to provide a plurality of opposed runs, and their crossing runs pass over guide sheaves 31 carried by brackets 38. The cables 3| are laterally offset-from `but parallel tothe cables 2| and 2| and act to draw the leaves L through the gap between the opposed runs of the carded stemming belts` 39, the lamina being thus stripped off the stems by the carding pins of the y stemming belts which travel in the forward direction with respect to the movement of thev leaves. These stemming belts 39 are sufficiently inclined away from the cables 3| to permit their carding pins to strip the leaves, and are fastened to endless chains driven from a motor 40 bysufciently above the belts 39, are caught by the grippers of the auxiliary stem puller 45 which by its rotary movement pulls the stems S' out of the stemming belts, thereby stripping the same. In case the broken stems of the unstemmed leaves do not project sufficiently above the belts 39 to be engaged by the grippers of the stem puller 45, they are carried on by the stemming .belts 39 to a pair of endless conveyor belts 46 which advance them out of the machine.- 'Ihe belts 46v are driven by pulleys 4l on shafts 42 and run over idlerpulleys 481on shafts 49 carried by brackets 50 attached to the frame of the stemming machine. The vstems S are deflected from the stem puller by a guard 45a..

Ordinarily, the stems S, when properly gripped by the cables 3|, break off close to the leaf within the width of the carded sections of the belts 39, the stripped length of the stems varying with the length of the leaves and the toughness of their stems. If it is desired to break all stems to the same length, the scorer 5| hereinafter described is attached to the machine and is adjusted to the. proper position so that the stems are all weakened at the same distance from the cables 3|. This feature is highly desirable since it permits the production of a type of strip preferred by some manufacturers.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the shaft 26 of the idler sheave 25 of the upper cables 2| is supported in bearings 52 hung by an eye-bolt 53 from a bracket 54I mounted on horizontal guides 55 and 56 attached to'the side frame 51 ofthe stemming machine. The bracket 54 is slidable on the guides 55 and 56 and may be adjusted thereon by turning a screw 58, Fig. 1, loosely held in frame 51 and engaging with a threaded lug 59 of bracket 54, thereby providing lateral adjustment of the bearing 52 with the shaft 26. The eye-bolt 53 has a threaded portion engaging a threaded bore in a bevel gear 60 seated on the bracket 54 and meshing with a bevel gear 6| having an axle 62 journaled in the cover plate 63 of bracket 54. By turning the shaft 62 of gear 6| by means of a crank handle (not shown), the bearing 52 can thereby be raised or lowered in bracket 54 for vertical adjustment of the upper sheave-shaft 26. The shaft 36 of the idler sheave 35 of the upper cable 3| is similarly mounted in a bearing adjusted vertically and horizontally on the side frame 51.

The bearing 64 of the shaft 26 of the idler sheave 25 is supported by an adjusting screw 65 threaded in a bracket 66 slidable on guides 56 and 61, thus affording lateral and vertical adjustment of lower sheave-shaft 26. During its vertical adjustment the bearing 52 is guided by sliding engagement of its lateral extensions 52 with guides 68 attached to brackets 54, see Fig. 1. Similar provision is made for vertically and horizontally adjusting the idler sheave 35 of the lower cable 3|. After the desired adjustment of sheaves 25, 25' and 35 has been made, the fastening screws of guides 55, 56, 61 and 68 are tightened to retain the bearings 52 and 64 in the adjusted position. Fastening screws 68a. hold guides 68 in proper position.

The lower run of the upper cable 2| is engaged by bars or guides 69, Fig. 4, attached to slotted holders 10 slidable on pins 1| carried by sockets 12 fastened to brackets 13. Adjustable coil springs 14 seated in the sockets 12 bear on holders 10 to press the underlying run of the cable 2| against the leaves on the opposed run of the cable 2| and retain the same thereon. The brackets 13 are joined by links 19 to levers 8G fixed on a shaft 8| journaled in brackets 15 and carrying a hand lever 82. By swinging the latter out of its normal position in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4, the brackets 13 can be raised simultaneously, thereby lifting the guide 69 off the cable 2| and giving access to the same as well as to the lower cable 2|' and its guide 69 which is attached to a bar 83 carried by brackets 84 on frame 51. Clamps 16 fixed to rods 11 located in suitable bearings in the frame of the machine are adjusted by hand wheels 18 or like devices to bear against brackets 13, and secure them in adjusted position relative to lower brackets 84.

To retain the brackets 13 in either raised or lowered position when the clamps 16 are open, the bracket 15 in which the mid-section of the shaft 8| is mounted, Fig. 5, carries a plunger 85 which is pressed by a spring 86 into one of two holes in a bracket 81 adjustably attached by a socket 88 and screw 89 to the holder 10 of cable guide 69. By pulling a knob 96 attached to the free end of plunger 85, the latter is withdrawn from bracket 81 so that the same can be raised by handlever 82 into its upper position, whereupon the plunger 85 snaps back into bracket 81, the lower hole then having reached the position formerly occupied by the upper hole, as shown by the arrow.

The opposed runs of the cables 3| are similarly engaged by bars or guides 69, the lower bar 69" being stationarily supported in the same manner as guide 69' just described; and the upper bar 69" being yieldin'gly supported from brackets carrying a shaft 6|' which is connected to the said brackets by linkage (not shown) and provided with a hand lever 82', and fastened in operative position to cause the stem butts of the leaves to be gripped between the cable runs traveling through the bars 69, by means of clamps (not shown) controlled by hand-wheels 13 (Fig. 2). To latch the upper bar 69" in operative or in raised position when the hand-wheels are turned to release the upper bar 69, there is likewise provided a spring-pressed plunger 90', and upon lifting the hand-lever 82' the upper bar 69 will be raised.

The shafts 24 and 24 of the driving sheaves 23 and 23 of the cables 2| and 2|' are vertically adjustable as shown in Fig. 6. A gear transmission of conventional construction driven from the motor 22 and comprising two shafts 92 and 93 carrying sprockets 94 and 95 which by chains 96 and 91 running over yieldingly mounted tightener sprockets |68 are connected to the driving sprockets 68 and 99 of shafts 24 and 24', respectively. The bearings |00 of shaft 24 are supported by brackets hung by eyebolts |02 from a cross-member |03 supported by the side frames 51 and 51' of the stemming machine. The eye-bolts |02 supporting the bearings for the ends of the shaft 24 are screwed into bevel gear |04 meshing with bevel gear' |05 on the ends of a shaft |06 journaled in member |03, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The gear |04 at the outer end of eye-bolt |02 also meshes with a bevel gear |01 journaled in end plate |08 of cross-member |03, its axle |09 being made with a square end for the reception of a crank handle. By thus turning gear |01, by means of the crank handle the eye-bolts |02 at the two ends of shaft 24 are raised or lowered in unison for vertical adjustment of shaft 24. The brackets |0| have lateral extensions IUI', Fig. 1, sliding in guides l0 attached to side frame 51. The bearings of the lower shaft 24' are carried by brackets H2, Fig. 6, which rest on adjusting screws l |3 turning in lugs H4 attached to frame 51 and providing vertical adjustment of the shaft 24.

The carded butt-stripping rolls 29, Fig. 1, are supported by sets of brackets H5, H pivoted on pins H6a on pedestals H6, H6 mounted on a bed l1, the brackets I5 of the upper as well as the brackets I l5' of the lower roller being adjustable vertically on their pivots by means of adjusting screws H8 threaded in spaced lugs xed on pedestal H6. After adjustment to proper position by screws H8 brackets H5, H5 are locked in adjusted position by means of bolts ||5a which extend through slotted ends of brackets H5, H5' and pedestals H6, H6. The bed H1, which also carries the motor 30 driving through a gear transmission housed in the transmission box H9 shafts carrying sprockets |20, is swingably supported by a vertical shaft |2| held in a bracket |22 attached to side frame 51, and in the embodiment shown is adapted to be swung manually about shaft |2I. On its bottom the bed H1 has rollers |23 resting on a curved bracket |24 on frame 51, so that the entire butt-stripping unit can easily be swung clear of the machine in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 1).

The shafts 44 of the idler sprockets 43 of the stemming belts 39 are supported by brackets |25, Fig. 2, arranged similarly to the brackets 54 and 66 in Fig. 3, for vertical adjustment of 745 Iii) |23, Fig. 2, which turns a bevel gear |21 meshingwith a bevel gear |28 on one end of a horizontal screw-shaft 82S, the said screw-shaft eri-- gaging with a threaded member l 35 slidable vertically on the supporting bracket of the upper sprocket e3. A bevel gear |3i on the other end of shaft |29 meshes with a bevel gear |32 on the upper end of a vertical shaft |33 which has a second bevel gear on its lower end driving a lower screw shaft engaging with a threaded member similarly slidable vertically on the supporting bracket of the lower sprocket. Both sprockets i3 thus move in unison during their axial adjustment and thus the receiving end of the stemming belts may be readily moved away from the cables 3| to provide access for repairv and replacement of the belts and their driving chains.

The bearings |355, |34 of the shafts d2, 42 of the driving sprockets 5|, di', Fig. '7, are supported by eye-bolt i35 and adjusting screws |35a on brackets |35, |35 slidable on a pedestal |39, and may be vertically adjusted in the same manner as the bearings 52 and 54 in Fig. 3. The brackets |36, |35 have threaded lugs i3?, Fig. 8, into which are fitted the screws |38 which are free to turn in the pedestal |39 for transverse adjustment of the driving sprockets. On the outer ends of the shafts 32, 42 are mounted sprockets |45, iffl' driven from sprockets llil, |4| on shafts ist?, |42 of a gear transmission of well known construction housed in the transmission box E53 of the motor l by driving chains running over adjustable idlers M4, |44. The sprockets ffii. 5| are made with long-hubs overhanging the bearings i3d, 34', and on these hubs are slidably mounted, by means of keys |015 fitting into long keyways |135 therein, the driving pulleys 'i, di" of the broken-leaf conveyor i5 which thus are laterally adjustable with respect to the stemming belts 39.

The auxiliary stem puller for broken leaves above referred to consists of a rotary disk |45, Fig. 9, around the circumference of which are mounted pairs of gripping jaws 65, 35', the movable jaws l5 being fulcrumed on horizontal studs lf3? carried by lugs on the stationary jaws 'i5'.4

The jaw 55 of each pair is pressed against the jaw d5 by compression springs ilS and carries a roller |139 engaging with a stationary cam |50. The latter is so shaped that the jaws 55 close as they enter between the stemming belts 39 and 39 to grip the stem of any broken leaf L which may project from the carding pins and open as they approach a stripping wheel |5I, allowing the latter to enter between them to eject the stripped stem. The shaft |52 of disk |55 is driven by bevel gears |55 and |55 from a shaft |67 independently driven by suitable conventional means supported by the end frame |53 of the stemming machine.

While the stemming belts may diverge suiciently from the cables 3| to entirely strip the stem, it is preferred to leave some of the stem in the leaf at the tip of the same, as some manufacturers wish. to make use of this portion of the stem. To this end there is provided a stem scoring device, Figs. l0 and l1, consisting of a cutter disk 5I placed in the path of the advancing `stems S of the leaves L carried by the stemming belts 39, 3S', and of smooth roller E55 underlying the disk. rlhe shaft 55 of the scoring disk 5| is supported in a bearing it vertically slidable in a bracket 1|51V `mounted on the guide 69"-.of thev upper stemming belt 39. lThe bearing |56 is supported vby a screw |58 threaded into the bracket |5'|,and may be'thereby adjusted to score the stems so that they will be broken oii at their scored portions, leaving strips in which the lamina will extend beyond the stem portion at either side thereof, this type of strip being preferred by the manufacturers. On the shaft |55 of the disk 5| is mounted a sprocket |59 driven through a chain- |50 from a sprocket from a suitable source of power. The shaft |6| of roller |54 is supported by a bracket 52 mounted on the guide 69'. of the lower stemming belt. This shaft extends beyond the holding cables 3|, 3| and is driven by a sprocket |63 through a chain |64 from a second sprocketon the shaft of the motor which drives the cutter disk 5|. The brackets |51` and |62 are adjustably fastened to the guides 69",' BSf-, by screws passing through slots in the brackets, so that the stem scorer can readily be adjusted for `different lengths of stems. The chains |6f-and |64 run over adjustable idlers whichcan-be set to take up their slack in the different positions of the scoringunit.

Since the scored portions of the stems are broken off-between the carded sections of the stemming belts, the stem portions remaining in the leaves are retained therebetween, and thus the strips kare delivered from the end of the machine to any suitable receiving or conveying means, not shown. Any leaves which break olf from their stem-buttsvwhile the latter are gripped by cables 3| are stemmed by the auxiliary stem puller and delivered from the stemming belts together with the strips. If the stein puller fails to grip the broken stem of any leaf, the same will be carried between the belts 46 and thereby separated from the strips.

What is claimed is:

l. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with butt-stripping mechanism, of mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of action of said butt-stripping mechanism, carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of lea-ves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping mechanism and drawing them between said carded surfaces, mecha- I nism having sets of opposed grippers co-acting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken olf from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them, and a device for scoring at a predetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn between said carded surfaces by said means so that each unbroken stem will be broken off at its scored portion.

2. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with butt-stripping mechanism, of mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of action of said butt-stripping mechanism, carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping mechanism and drawing them between said carded surfaces, mechanism having sets of opposed grippers co-acting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and movable substantially in the plane of the leaves carried by said carded surfaces to pull said stems between saidA carded surfaces and thereby strip them, said carded surfaces including belts having opposed runs arranged to strip leaves drawn therebetween by said means and diverging from the latter.

3. The combination with carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of tobacco leaves and drawing them between said surfaces to strip them, and a rotory disk having sets of opposed grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken oif from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them.

4. The combination with carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of tobacco leaves and drawing them between said surfaces to strip them, mechanism having sets of opposed grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stern butts gripped by said means and movable substantially in the plane of the leaves carried by said carded surfaces to pull said stems between said carded surfaces and thereby strip them, and mechanism for actuating said grippers to seize and subsequently release said stems.

5. The combination with carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of tobacco leaves and drawing them between said surfaces to strip them, mechanism having sets of opposed grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them, mechanism for actuating said grippers to seize and subsequently release said stems, and a rotary member entering between said grippers for ejecting the released stems from said grippers.

6. The combination with carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of leaves and drawing them between said surfaces to strip them, mechanism for seizing the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and pulling said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them, and a device for;

scoring at a predetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn between said carded surfaces by said means so that each unbroken stem will be broken at its scored portion.

7. The combination with mechanism for stripping the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves, of means for gripping the stem butts of leaves and drawing them through said stripping mechanism to strip them, rotary gripping mechanism for seizing the stems of leaves which have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and pulling said stems into said stripping mechanism to strip the same, and a device for scoring at a predetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn into the stripping mechanism by said means so that each unbroken stem will be broken off at its scored portion.

8. The combination with mechanism for stripping the lamina from the stems of tobacco leaves, of means for gripping the stem butts of leaves and drawing them into said stripping mechanism to strip them, and a device for scoring at a predetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn into the stripping mechanism by said means so that the stems willbe broken oif at their scored portions when the latter enter said stripping mechanism, said device being situated adjacent said mechanism on the side remote from said gripping means, and means for operating said device to score the stems of said leaves at said length while said carded surfaces are moving relative to said gripping means to strip the laminae from the stems being scored.

9. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with a butt-stripping unit, of mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of action of said butt-stripping unit, carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, and means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping unit and drawing them between said carded surfaces, said buttstripping unit including a pivoted bed, an electric motor mounted on said bed, a set of superimposed carded rolls extending along the path of leaves advanced by said mechanism and supported from said bed, said rolls being driven from said motor and sufficiently spaced to admit therebetween the butts of leaves advanced by said mechanism and thereby strip the same, whereby said bed may be swung outwardly on its pivot to move said rolls out of operative position.

10. The combination with a butt-stripping unit, of mechanism for advancing tobacco leaves into the range of action of said unit, said unit including a pivoted bed, an electric motor mounted on said bed, a set of superimposed carded rolls extending along the path of leaves advanced by said mechanism and supported from said bed, said rolls being driven from said motor and suinciently spaced to admit therebetween the butts of leaves advanced by said mechanism and thereby strip the same, whereby said bed may be swung on its pivot to move said rolls out of operative position.

11. The combination with opposed carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip vthe lamina from tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of leaves and drawing them between said carded surfaces, said carded surfaces including belts having opposed runs diverging from said means and adapted to strip leaves drawn therebetween by said means, motor-driven and idler pulleys over which said belts are looped, devices for transversely adjusting said driven and idler pulleys relative to the stem butts of leaves gripped by said means, said means including a pair of traveling, endless cables having opposed runs adapted to grip leaves therebetween, a stationary bar supporting one of said runs, a spring-pressed bar urging the other of said runs towards said stationary bar to clamp the leaves on the cable run passing over said stationary bar, means for retracting said springpressed bar from operative position, and a de- 4vice for latching the spring-pressed bar in either operative or retracted position.

12. The combination with a pair of traveling, endless cables having opposed runs, of a stationary bar supporting one of said runs, a springpressed bar urging the other of said runs towards said stationary bar to clamp stern butts on the cable run passing over said stationary bar, means for retracting said spring-pressed bar from operative position, and a device for latching the spring-pressed bar in either operative or retracted position.

13. In a tobacco stemming machine, the ccmbination with butt-stripping mechanism,

action of said butt-stripping mechanism,I carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to striplthe lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts of :the

leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping mechanism and drawing them between said carded surfaces, a rotary disk having sets of opposed grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves whichhave broken off fromv the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded .surfaces to strip them, and a set of traveling,

endless belts arranged to receive any unstemmed leaves from between said carded surfaces andv carry them away to separate the samefrom. the stemmed leaves.

14. In a tobacco stemming machine, the com-f of mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of bination with butt-stripping mechanism,

' action of said butt-strippingl mechanism, :carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts ofthe leaves after theyl have been subjected. to the action of said butt-stripping mechanismv'and drawing them between said carded surfaces, a 'rotary disk having sets of opposed grippers coactingl to seize the stems of leaves which have Y 'broken off .from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded `:surfaces to strip them, a device for scoring at a i' predetermined length the stems of leaves Idrawn between said carded surfaces by said means so lthat each unbroken stem will be broken? off at its scored portion, and a set of traveling,.endless beltsarranged to receive any unstemmed leaves from between vsaid carded surfaces, and. carry them away to separate thev same from the stemmed leaves.

Y. 15. In a tobacco stemming. machine, the combination with leaf gripping and forwarding means, of a stripping unit, said unit including a pivoted bed, stripping mechanism supported' on said bed for movement into and out of position to operate on leaves advanced by'said means, and

a motor also mounted on said bed to drive said stripping mechanism.

16. In a tobacco stemmingmachine, the combination with a pair of flexible endless members ing members carrying opposed stripping elementsfor stripping and simultaneously advancing the T. 65 leaves, primary means for gripping the stems of having opposed and centrally carded surfaces-4 with non-carded portions to eitherside thereof, of a series of opposed grippers adapted toenter between said non-carded portions to grip stems projecting from said carding, and means for leaves advanced by said members, said members and means having relative movement to pass the elements along the stems to strip the leaves, and- Y secondary means for gripping and pulling out the stems of leaves left in said elements by :said primary means, said secondary means'including a series of gripper jaws traveling in anendless path diverging from the path of said members.

18. In a tobacco leaf stemming machine, thecombination with endless traveling members of.l A, mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of` :carrying opposed stripping 'surfaces for stripping .tobacco leaves,'primary means for gripping the tobacco leaves and advancing them between'said surfaces, said primary means and surfaces havying relative` movement to strip the leaves, and secondary means for stripping and pulling out the vstems of leaves left between said surfaces including a series of `gripper jaws traveling in an endless path diverging from the path of said members.

19.. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with butt-stripping mechanism, of mechanism for advancing leaves into the -range of action of said butt-stripping mechanism, carded traveling, endlessl'surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for rgripping the stem butts of the-leaves after they have been subjected to the action" of said butt-stripping mechanism and drawing them between said carded surfaces, and

i a traveling member having sets of relatively movable grippers coacting to seize the stems of leaves which. have broken off Yfrom the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems be- Y tween said carded surfaces to strip them.

l =20. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with butt-stripping mechanism, of

'mechanism for advancing leaves into the range of action of said butt-stripping mechanism, carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from, the stems of leaves drawn therebetween, means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said butt-stripping mechanism and `drawing them between said carded surfaces, a

traveling' member having sets of opposed grippers co-acting to seize the stems of leaves which have broken 01T from the stem butts gripped by said means and pull said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them, and a device for scoring at apredetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn-between ysaid carded surfaces by said Y means so that each unbroken stem will be broken 01T at its scored portion.

21. The combination with carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from -th-e stems of tobacco leaves drawn therebetween, of means for gripping the stem butts of leaves and drawing them between said surfaces to strip them, a member provided with a plurality of sets of gripper jaws for seizing the stems of leaves which' have broken off from the stem butts gripped by said means and pulling said stems between said carded surfaces to strip them, and a vdevice for scoring at a predetermined length the stems of the leaves drawn between said carded surfaces by said means so that each unbroken stem will be broken at its scored portion.

' 22. In a tobacco stemming machine, the combination with a butt-stripping unit, of mecha- 4nismfor advancing leaves into the range of action of ysaid butt-stripping unit, carded traveling, endless surfaces adapted to strip the lamina from the-stems of `leaves drawn therebetween, and

means for gripping the stem butts of the leaves after they have been subjected to the action of said-.fbutt-stripping unit vand drawing them between vsaid carded surfaces, said butt-stripping unit-including a pivoted bed, a set of superimposed carded rolls extending along the path of leaves advanced by said mechanism and supportedpfrom said bed,means for driving said v rolls, said Arolls being suiciently spaced toadmit therebetweenlthe butts of leaves advanced by said mechanism and thereby strip the same, whereby said bed may be swung outwardly on its pivot to move said rolls out of operative position.

23. 'Ihe combination with a butt-stripping unit, of mechanism for advancing tobacco leaves into the range of action of said unit, said unit including a pivoted bed, a set of superimposed carded rolls extending along the path of leaves advanced by said mechanism and supported from said bed, means for driving said rolls, said rolls being suiiciently spaced to admit therebetween the butts of leaves advanced by said mechanism and thereby strip the same, whereby said bed may be swung on its pivot to move said rolls out of operative position.

RUPERT E. RUNDELL. 

